ROCK ISLAND, ILL. — The Central College baseball team came up one out short of forcing the game to extra innings in a 5-4 loss to Hope College (Mich.) Friday night.

After tying the game at 4-4 in the seventh inning, Central (4-6) was looking to send the game into a 10th inning and hold Hope (6-8) scoreless for the fifth inning in a row.

The leadoff hitter reached in the bottom of the ninth on a throwing error before Caleb Stewart (junior, Pella) induced a pair of groundouts. With two outs and a runner on third, a slow chopper forced Stewart to make a tough throw which got away from Jackson Torbit (sophomore, St. Louis, Mo., Webster Groves HS) at first base, allowing the winning run to score.

Central netted just six singles on the day. Garrett Guenther (junior, Grayslake, Ill., Central HS) didn't have a hit but did score two runs after reaching via walk three times. Left fielder Stephen Stufflebeam (junior, Macomb, Ill.) and right fielder Jaden Kramer (senior, Cedar Falls) each recorded RBI singles.

Stewart took the loss after entering in the ninth. Mark Kenney (senior, Fennimore, Wis.) was the starting pitcher, yielding four runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Central had two more games at the Augustana Invitational Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. against Eureka University (Ill.) and followed by Augustana University (Ill.) at 4 p.m.